Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou Saint Julien 2012

Deep, vivid purple with a beautiful bouquet of blackcurrant and notes of violets. The palate has plenty of fruit, smooth tannins and good acidity. Well structured and very elegant with finesse. The finish has very good persistence and is long. Overall well balanced, an archetypal “claret”.
The 75 hectares of the Ducru Beaucaillou vineyard stretch out along the eastern side of this vast communal terroir, hugging the river in the area where the quaternary gravels are the deepest. The stones have many advantages, enhancing soil drainage, reflecting the sun on the grapes in these closely planted vines, storing heat in the daytime and restoring it at night, affording a protective cover to the soil against desiccation during the hot summer months, and so on. The clay subsoil regulates the water supply of the vines, soaking up the surplus rain during wet periods and giving it back during droughts.